Wire supporting device



Nov. 18,'1952 c ws 2,618,685

I wIR: SUPPORTING DEVICE' Filed July 17, 1947 Gran G. LEw

Patented Nov. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in wire supportingdevices, and more particularly to such a device adapted to support anelectric wire upon a metal post in insulated relation thereto;

In recent years it has become quite common to` electrify fences orenclosures utilized for keeping a, herd of cattle or other animalswithin a confined area. A single electric wire is usually employed whichis connected to a source of electric energy of sufiicient power toimpart to an animal contacting the charged wire a jolt or shock ofsufficient intensity to cause the animal to quickly step back out ofcontact with the wire, it being understood that the electric chargeinduced in the wire is not of sufiicient power to injure the animal. Itis quite customary in rural districts to utilize metal fence posts ofmore or less standard construction, which are adapted to be driven intothe ground to a suitable depth to support the posts in upright position.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a wiresupporting device which is so constructed that it may be quickly Securedto a metallic post by a snap-on action, and whereby the element isfrictionally retained in position on the post.

A further object of the invention is to provide wire supporting devicescomprising an insulating block having opposed resilient arms securedthereto adapted to embrace a portion of a metallic fence post, therebyto frictionally secure the device in position upon the post, and asuitable wire supporting hook being secured to the insulating block ininsulated relation to the resilient arms, whereby an electric wire maybe quickly strung on a row of post without the use of tools, said wiresupporting devices being so constructed that they may be quickly snappedonto the posts at the proper elevation, whereby the wire-receiving hooksprovided thereon will be in proper position to receive the wire.

Other objects of the invention reside in the simple and inexpensiveConstruction of the device, whereby it may readily be manufactured inquantity production at low cost; in the provision of such a devicecomprisng an elongated body of insulating material having means forremovably supporting it upon a metal fence post, and whereby it will beretained on said post in adjusted position, and said body having aspring actuated hook or clip thereon for releasably receiving anelectric wire and whereby the wire is not likely to accidentally becomedetached from the wire supporting device.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in theannexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structuredesigned to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is tobe understood that the invention is not confined to the exact featuresshown, as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimswhich follow.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view showing an electric wire supported on two fence postsby the novel wire supu porting device herein disclosed;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail View of a portion of a conventional metalfence post showing the invention applied thereto;

Figure 3 is a sectional plan view on the line a 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing a device of slightlydifferent Construction;

Figure 5 is a View showing a device having its ends notched to receivespaced projections on the fence posts;

Figure 6 is a view showing a wire supporting device of slightly modifiedConstruction;

Figure 7 is a sectional plan view on the line 7-1 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing a series of fence posts With awire secured thereto by the novel wire supporting device hereindisclosed; and

Figure 9 is a. perspective View showing the invention applied to aconventional wooden fence post.

In the selected embodiment of th invention herein disclosed, there isillustrated in Figure 1, for purposes of disclosure, a section offencing comprising the usual upright metallic fence posts 2, havingtheir lower ends suitably anchored in the ground in the usual manner.Metallic fence posts such as are commonly utilized in the erection ofrural fences, are usually 'sliding down on 'the posts when wiredthereto.;

This is a common and well-known practice, and therefore need not befurther described in detail.

A fence composed of two or more wires stretched along in verticallyspaced relation upon the fence posts 2 may' serve to keep certainanimals Withinan enclosure. There are many animals, however, as forexample cattle, which often exert considerable strain on the Wires of afence as a result of reaching under or over the wires for freshvegetation.

To prevent the cattle from thus stretching and straining the wires, ithas been found that by stringing an electric wire along the'fence whereit may readily be contacted by cattle and other animals tending to reachunder or over e the wires, that the slight jolt or shock imparted tothe'animals when they contact'the live 'wire .will causeLthem to quicklyjump .back away from the fence, into jthe enclosure, and as a result ofI such jolts and shocks ;the cattle may soon learn to stay clear of thefence wires.

' 'An electric wire tobeused for the above'purpose,must be insulat'edfrom the upright metal- 'lic supporting posts, and the presentinven'tion makes it possible to quickly string an eleric wire alongafence composed 'of metallic supporting posts with a minimum of effortand without the use' of tools.

The inventon herein disclosed comprises an elongated body 8 of asuitable nsulating material which is formed with a longitudinallydisposed central groove 9 adapted to receive the rib 6 provided-upon thefront face 5 of the supporting posts 2. Secured to the insulating block8 is a pair of opposed resilient arms ll, which,

as; shown in Figures 2,and 3, may be made from a si-nghapiece ofwirehaving its central ,portion fixed in an aperture in the insulatingblock 8 *with its opposed ends bent to form the arms H as shown inFigures 2 and 3.

, ;The arms li are so shaped that the insulating blok-may read'ly;beisecured in position upon' the front face of the supporting post 2 atany ;desired elevation by simply engaging the resilient ;arms-i l-withthe-fiangesS, as shown 'in Figures 2 and 3, whereby the insulating'blockwill be :firmly securedto thepost; but in such amanner that it mayreadily be ;detached therefrcm 'withi out to'olswheneverzdesired.

Secured to the outer or front face'of the insulating block 8' inspaced---relation to :the intermediate portionof the-wire forming thearms i 'll'is a spring'h'ook; genera-lly'designated bythe numeral l2.The hook has one end anchored in the insulatingblock,;-as shown at [3,-and its *opposite end 14* is' bent as shown in Figura-2,

whereby the free end portion i& of the hook When a wire is' thusengagedxwith the hook l2 'ofthe wire holding device, the electric wirewill be insulated from the metallic supporting posts 2 as well as fromthe supporting arms H of the device, as may readily be noted byreference to Figure 2. The longitudinally extending recess or groove 9in the insulating block 8 cooperates with the rib 6 on the front face ofthe post to prevent the device, as a whole, from relatively rotatingupon the post, as will be understood. In Figura 1 of the applicationdrawing there is shown a wire !5 mounted on two spaced metallic fenceposts by means of the novel wire supporting device herein disclosd.

In Figure 4 there is shown a wire supporting device of slightlydifferent construction, comprising `an 'elongated insulating body llhaving a transverse notch or recess r !8' therein adapted to receive oneof the vertically spaced lugs 'I usually provided on the posts, as shownin the application drawing. A pair of spring actuated legs !9 areSecured to the upper portion of the insu- 'lating block ll and areadapted to frictionally engage the. opposed fianges 3 of the post in aman- 'ner similar' to the device shown in Figure 3.

-' and lower ends formed with `notchesfor recesses 22 and 23,respectively, adapted to receive -adjacently disposed ,spacedprojectinglugs 'I of the supporting post 2,* thereby to prevent `the insulationblock 2| from relatively. rotatingupon .the post,.and;also wherebytheblock 2! cannot Shift vertically thereon.

Springactuated legs24 are secured tothein- ;sulating block 2 l ina-`manner similar to .the legs ll-H shown in Figures 2 and 4,' andareadapted to embrace the flanges 3-ofthepost to secure thexwireholdr:thereto.

A suitable hook 25, similar to the hook l 2 :shown inFigure 2 isprovided on the insulatingblock 2| for receiving and supportingthewire-|5,.in-

dicated by dotted linesin Figure.

;In Fig ures- &and 7 there is illustrated a device comprising aninsulatingblockr 26- similarto .the

oneshown in Figures -2 and 3, having spring-Laclation tothearms 21. Theclips 28 oo-act to -'eceive and-secure .the electric wire !5 to the wireholding device. g

"In Figure 9 there is shown an insulating block 29 adapted'tobesecuredto a conventionalwooden -fence post 3| -by means of a nail orscrew-32. -To -thus secure theinsulating block to a fencepost, the bodyof the insulating block is provided-with a suitable aperture `which maybe counterbored as shown,- to secure the nail orscrewhead.

While the' wire supporting device hereinc-,dis-

;closed has `beenshown and-described as :being lutilizedfonsupporting-:an electrified wire in i positionto be engaged 1 bycattle -or other animals for %the purpose of retaining them:withinalconfined'area, it isto be understoodthat itl may be utilizedfor -detachablyrsupporting other- Wires onpoles or suitable uprghtswithout departing from the ,scope of theinven'tion.

The novel wire holding device herein disclosed has beenfound extremelypractical and efiicient in actual use. Its construction is such that itmay be quickly snapped onto a conventional fence post at any desiredelevation, and the resilient legs thereof will retain the member in itsselected position without danger of ever becoming accidentally detachedfrom the post. The resilient legs secured to the insulating block makeit possible to snap the devce onto a fence post with one hand afterwhich the wire may be quickly snapped into position in the hook securedto the insulating block, it being understood that the hook !2 ispreferably of resilient material Whereby it may readily flex, asindicated by the dotted lines in Figure 2, to permit the wire to bepassed between the free end of the hook and the adjacent face of theinsulating block 8.

It will also be noted that the devce, as a whole, is extremely simpleand inexpensive in construction, and readily lends itself to manufacturein quantity production at low cost. It is also small and compact wherebya number of such devices may readily be carried in a pocket, if sodesired, when installing or stringing an electric wire on a row offenceposts.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplishedat least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also beapparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments hereindescribed may be variously changed and modified without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, and that the invention is capable of usesand has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will beappreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments are illustrative only,and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. A handy electrical insulator for ready attachment and detachment ofan electric fence wire to and from steel posts of T-cross-section havinga face fiange and mid-flange and in which the mid-flange has a row ofspaced lugs on the face thereof opposite the mid-fiange, said insulatorcomprising a rectangular block of insulating material having a widthslightly less than the width of the mid-fiange, said rectangular blockbeing recessed on one face so as to embrace at least one lug when theinsulating block is placed against the face fiange of the post, saidinsulating block having an aperture transversely therethrough, a metalclip extending through said aperture and being bent to provide resilientends for embracing opposite edges of the face fiange, and a metal hooksupported on the insulating block and insulated from the metal clip forsecuring an electric fence wire thereon.

2. A handy electrical insulator for readily mounting an electric fencewire on steel fence posts of T cross-section ccmposed of a face fiangeand mid-flange and having a row of regularly spaced lugs on the faceflange, comprising a generally rectangular shaped insulator having awidth approximately equal to the width of the face fiange and having arecess in one face thereof for embracing at least one lug when theinsulator is placed against that face of the face fiange having the lugsthereon, said insulator having an aperture transversely therethroughfrom side-to-side, a metal clip of resilient metal extending entirelythrough said insulator, said clip having protruding ends bent towardsand beyond the face of the insulator which is shaped to embrace the lugson the post, said ends being bent so as resiliently to engage the edgesof the face fia'nge of the post, and a bent metal hook attached to theinsulator and insulated from the clip for holding the fence wire.

3. An insulator for supporting an electric wire on a metallic postWhereby the wire is electrically insulated from the post comprising anelongated body of insulating material having one face adapted to beseated against the face of the supporting post, said face having arecess therein adapted to cooperate with a protuberance on the face ofsaid metallic post, resilient elements secured to and extending fromopposed sides of said insulator body and having their free ends formedwith inwardly turned resilient hooks for grippingly engaging the sidesof the supporting post to detachably secure the insulator thereto, and aspring clip secured to a second face of the insulator body for receivingand supporting a wire thereon.

4. An insulator for supporting an electric wire on a metallic posthaving a vertically extending central supporting web and a face flangeat its center disposed at substantially right angles to said web, saidface ange having a vertically extending rib therein which is parallel tothe opposed side edges of the ange and has spaced projections thereon,said insulator comprising a rectangular elongated body of insulatingmaterial having one face adapted to seat against the face of saidsupporting post, resilient elements on oppositely disposed sides of theinsulator body and extending outwardly and inwardly therefrom and havingtheir free ends formed with inwardly turned hooks for grippinglyengaging the edges of the face of said supporting post detachably tosecure the insulator thereto, and a spring clip having a substantiallyS-shaped configuration secured to the insulator body in insulatedrelation to the first clip, said s-shaped clip being secured to a secondface of the insulator body oppositely disposed to the face adapted toengage said supporting post face for receiving and supporting a wirethereon.

5. The apparatus of c aim 4 further characterized in that said longatedbody of insulated material is adapted to be seated between a pair ofspaced lugs on said supporting posts.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that said insulatoris shaped to embrace one of the projecting lugs on said post whenresiliently secured thereon.

7. An insulator for supporting an electric wire on a metallic posthaving a vertically extending web member and face member extending atright angles thereto, said vertically extending web member beingintegral with said face member at the center thereof, said face memberhaving a central rib disposed on the opposite side of said face memberand a plurality of spaced projections protruding from said central rib,comprising an insulating body, said insulating body having asubstantially rectangular block of insulating material with one facethereof grooved to receive said central rib therein, the opposite facethereof having means adapted for securing a resilient spring extensionin electrically insulated relationship thereon, said resilient springextension thereon comprising a substantially S- shaped wire member withone end embedded in said insulating body, the remaining Vertical sidesof said insulating body having clip means supported thereon, said clipmeans comprising a pair of resilient wire prongs extending outwardly

